Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder’s brain interface has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it “a matter of national security,” but Cinder suspects it’s more serious than he’s letting on.
Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder’s intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that’s been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter’s illness, Cinder’s stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an “honor” that no one has survived.
But it doesn’t take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.

First Sentence: The screw through Cinder’s ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle.

My Review:

Before I start this review, you guys should know that this is the second time I re-read Cinder. The first time I read Cinder, I DNF‘d it because, well, it was pretty predictable. It wasn’t until way later that I found out why: Besides Cinderella, Cinder is also based on Sailor Moon, a popular television show I loved to watch when I was a kid. I think I subconsciously realized that Cinder was a lot like Sailor Moon, hence why I found the book so predictable. After figuring that out, I decided to give Cinder another chance, and to my surprise, I found myself enjoying it more, a lot more, than the first time I’ve read it.

The second time around, I still found Cinder predictable, but I also had fun reading it. Who wouldn’t have fun reading about a someone digging through the junkyard, meeting a very hot Prince on the market, and a talking android?

The light flared as her scanner recognized him. “Prince Kai,” she said, her metallic voice squeaking. “You are even more handsome in person.” (12)

I love how Prince Kai’s character is so realistic. I’ve read a lot of books written from the guy’s point of view, and they just don’t sound like guys. They’re either too feminine, too mean, or just too unnatural. With Kai, we got a guy who is genuinely concerned about his people and also a guy who knows how to laugh and have fun without it being forceful or awkward. In fact, I personally think that Kai is better than Darren from Sailor Moon. I mean, I’m not the only one who thinks that Darren is unbelievable moody for no reason whatsoever right?

However, even though I praised Kai like crazy, I still want to slap Kai so hard at the end of Cinder. That comment he said to Cinder (you’ll automatically know what I’m talking about once you get to it) really hurt Cinder, and me. I honestly thought Kai was better than that. I’m still hurt after it.

[MILD] SPOILER: If Kai dares to complain that Cinder fooled him about her identity and that she purposely tried to seduce him, I would be so mad. (You don’t know how many guys I know in real life or read in books that fell for the girl, gets rejected, and then twists everything around so they look good.)

For some reason, I didn’t like Peony the first time I’ve read Cinder and I still don’t like her now. I don’t know why. Peony is portrayed as the nice stepsister and Cinder’s best human friend, but something about her just seems a little bit off to me. Maybe it’s because I know that Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella, so the two stepsisters both have to be evil, even though in Cinder, Peony is proven to be a nice person. I dunno.

And Adri, the evil stepmother. I don’t know how Cinder managed to not slap her across the face throughout the book because if I was in Cinder’s position, I would have long been in jail for beating Adri up. Cinder is Adri’s scapegoat and the funny thing is, Adri depends on Cinder for income, only she’s too stubborn to admit it. Sure, I can sometimes sympathize with Adri because Adri didn’t asked to be put in her situation either, but her actions are just too violent and selfish. I’m happy that Marissa Meyer made Adri a really hard character to outright hate though – Adri may be a bad person, but she has her own reasons for doing the things she does.

Adri’s lips puckered slightly at the corners. “It will be a miracle if you can find something suitable to wear that will hide your” – her gaze dropped to Cinder’s boots – “eccentricities. But, yes. If you fix the hover, I suppose you can go to the ball.” (25)

I have to give Marissa Meyer huge credit for her brilliant cyborg-Cinderella-Sailor Moon idea and for managing to perfectly mix all those elements into the book without it being messy or too slow. Marissa Meyer is a genius. Seriously. If you still haven’t read this book yet, what are you waiting for?

I absolutely, positively, can’t wait for Scarlet to be released. I want to meet Scarlet and the big bad wolf and see how Cinder and Kai’s relationship is now. Plus, there will be Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf in Scarlet, plus Sailor Moon and Cinder. Who could resist that? February, please come faster!

A deformed cyborg with a missing foot.
A Lunar with a stolen identity.
A mechanic with no one to run to, nowhere to go.
But they would be looking for a ghost. (387)

I absolutely loved Cinder. I’d never realized the Sailor Moon element before, but it makes a lot more sense now that you mention it. It definitely makes the story more unique, I think, in a very good way.

I loved this book (: I agree I think Kai is way better than Darien, besides a lot of the time Darien was either teasing her or lost his memory (That happened a lot)

Kai is an awesome character and he does seem more believable than most male characters. I am still a bit angry though at his comment at the end and I mean how could he think she tried to fool him what on earth did she get out of it!? anyways great review Hope you like Scarlet(:

Yeah, Darien seems like he’s too serious and grown up. I love the entire first season since there was a reason why he was that way, but from then on, I didn’t really like him.
Yeah, I was also REALLY furious with Kai at the end! It’s not like Cinder wants to be that way! D:< Kelly recently posted…Summer Giveaway Hop 2013

I still am thinking on whether to read this book or not. I’m not sure if I’ll like a book about cyborgs and stuff. But I saw the book trailer of this book and can I say that the Prince in the trailer is so handsome?! >.< Eeeeee! So there's a BIG possibility that I might decide to read this. Though it looks like Prince Kai left a bad impression at the end of the book, base on your review. But whatevs, if there's a hot book guy, I'll surely read it! Hahaha. :D

Great review! For some reason I just couldn’t get through Cinder and Scarlet. I just got so bored with them, although I did like the story and the characters..Eveline @ Eveline’s Books recently posted…YA Book Series – Novellas and Short Stories

I STILL haven’t read Cinder or Scarlet. I don’t know what I am waiting for! I think maybe I am afraid I will love them, and then I will go crazy having to wait until the next book is out, like everyone else. Right now I just don’t know what I am missing :) I think I will read them close to the Cress release date…but won’t there be at least 4 books in this series? So I will still have to wait….

I have seen this book around and although it did catch my interest I never read it. I never knew enough from the summary to feel like i need to read this book. After reading your review I now have to go get a copy lol. Had I known a little more about it I would have snatched it the first time I saw it. Thank you for the review!

Sailor Moon and Cinderella? I think you just made my childhood :) This review makes me want to read Cinder even more! Its funny how time will change our perspective on novels. I also really love the cover.Ashleigh Swerdfeger recently posted…Boston Pizza- Review

Ha ha, it sounds like you’ll definitely love this book Say!
The cover is so unique and gorgeous. When I saw the cover, I was immediately like I NEED THIS IN MY HANDS NOW.Kelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [47]

Hmmmm, I must the one of those indecisive few who haven’t read Scarlet yet.. Cant make up my mind if it’s good or not for me to get a copy. I’m not that fond of retellings but maybe I’ll give it a shot. Everyone loves it though. Loved your review.

Borrow Cinder and Scarlet from the library first Ashfa; that’s the safest way to see if you’ll like it first or not before you buy the actual book. o:Kelly recently posted…ARC Book Review: The Chaos of Stars

I remember seeing it buzzing a lot around it’s release. I thought it sounded pretty predictable too because of what the fairytale it’s retelling, but as soon as you mentioned Sailor Moon I stopped in my tracks. I love Sailor Moon, and being a fan of it, had me even more amped to give this book a try. Definitely need to give this book a try. :)Bri recently posted…Stacking the Shelves with Sunday Post: and a *sadface*

This is one of those books that everyone seems to have read – except for me! I don’t know Sailor Moon, so I guess that won’t be an issue for me. Glad you liked the book better the second time around!Nicole Hewitt recently posted…Review – Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux

I remember not hearing about this book at all before this year. Then BAM! Everyone’s talking about the series and I’m like what’s Cinder? Thankfully lots of bloggers (like yourself) help readers like me learn about new books everyday and I couldn’t know what more to say thank Thank You! :]

Cinder was my first fairytale re-telling book and I liked it! I love the idea of Cinderella as a Cyborg and found that the story was very original! I agree with you about Kai’s comment. Can’t wait to read Scarlet!

Yay, I’m glad you also liked this one Suz! :D<3
And ugh, that Kai's comment. Cinder better teach him a lesson about that comment in Cress or Winter! D:< Scarlet is even better than Cinder Suz. Just wait until you read it. ;D
Kelly recently posted…Judge A Book By Its Signature: Just One Day – Gayle Forman

Wow, I dind’t know Cinder was also based in Sailor Moon :0!
I haven’t read this but I’ve been meaning to :(
I hope I enjoy it as much as you do (the second time around) there’s a lot of difference between your first read rating for this book and the secod one.

Most people don’t know Cinder is based on Sailor Moon for some reason. o:
Yeah, there’s a lot of difference between my old rating and my new rating because I read somewhere that Marissa Meyer said that Cinder is meant to be predictable and I can understand why, which is why I gave Cinder another chance/another look.
I hope you’ll love Cinder as much as I do Frida! (:Kelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [53]

Cinder is not a cyborg, but a human with android parts if that makes any difference. :P
And I hope you’ll love this one as much as I do when you finally read it! :DKelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [54]

I have not read cinder, had no intention of doing so, but reading your review, I look forward to reading gave cinder, found there was no comment as sincere as yours, and cinderella princesses is not my favorite either, humanoid? I’m not convinced but I’ll give it a try! thank you!

Great review! I’ve had this book on my shelf for about 2 months now and just haven’t gotten around to it. I’ve heard amazing things about the series but didn’t know much other than the obvious– fairy tale re-telling of Cinderella. I’m really glad in the end that you enjoyed the book! :) Can’t wait to read it now!Brianna’s Bookish Confessions recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday (#9): Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi

Cinder was one of my favorite books of 2013. I loved how Marissa Meyer transformed the story of Cinderella into a action packed novel. I also read Scarlett and loved the way she incorporated Cinder into the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Cress is one of my most ancipated books of 2014. I’m so glad you gave Cinder another chance. Maybe the reason I loved it is because I hadn’t seen Sailor Moon. It was still a bit predictable. I do agree with you on that part.Rachael @ Rachael Turns Pages recently posted…Top Ten New To Me Authors 2013

I just read this book for the first time and really enjoyed it! It was a very interesting twist on such a classic tale. But I agree with you about Peony–I wasn’t sure if it was, like you said, that we expect the step-sisters to both be evil, but I wasn’t a fan of hers either. I think it also just has to do with the fact that, other than being the “nice” sister, there wasn’t much to her character. She just felt a little flat to me.

I’ve seen Cinder in the book store but I wasn’t really interested. All I’d heard about the book was “cyborgs” and that really didn’t appeal to me. But now, I have to admit that combining cyborgs, Cinderella and Sailor Moon sounds like a fun combination. Maybe I’ll give it a second chance :) Thanks for the review!

Thank you for the review. I haven’t read Cinder yet but I’m going to read it this month. I love retellings and I’m sooo excited about Cinder because I’ve heard a lot of good things about it before and now in your review. Thanks again :)

The Lunar Chronicles are amazing. I can understand what you mean about subconsciously channeling Sailor Moon, and not liking CINDER on your first read. I have only seen pictures so I only had the Cinderella knowledge going into my reading, so I was able to love it even if it was somewhat predictable. I think a retelling has to be a good balance of familiarity, something the reader can latch onto, but also have flavors, twists and turns that the reader can’t know or expect that give new insights into the fairy tale that wasn’t there before. Otherwise, why write it, and Marissa Meyer did that in spades. She’s brilliant!

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Effortlessly Reading sometimes receives ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) from publishers or authors in exchange for honest reviews. Please note that no compensation of any kind has been provided in exchange for a review. Any use and/or duplication of my material without any permission is strictly prohibited.